No abstract

LL37 exerts a dual pathogenic role in psoriasis. Bound to self-DNA/RNA, LL37 licenses autoreactivity by stimulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells-(pDCs)-Type I interferon (IFN-I) and acts as autoantigen for pathogenic Th17-cells. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), LL37 also triggers IFN-I in pDCs and is target of pathogenic autoantibodies. However, whether LL37 activates T-cells in SLE and how the latter differ from psoriasis LL37-specific T-cells is unknown. Here we found that 45% SLE patients had circulating T-cells strongly responding to LL37, which correlate with anti-LL37 antibodies/disease activity. In contrast to psoriatic Th17-cells, these LL37-specific SLE T-cells displayed a T-follicular helper-(T fH)-like phenotype, with CXCR5/Bcl-6 and IL-21 expression, implicating a role in stimulation of pathogenic autoantibodies. Accordingly, SLE LL37-specific T-cells promoted B-cell secretion of pathogenic anti-LL37 antibodies in vitro. Importantly, we identified abundant citrullinated LL37 (cit-LL37) in SLE tissues (skin and kidney) and observed very pronounced reactivity of LL37-specific SLE T-cells to cit-LL37, compared to native-LL37, which was much more occasional in psoriasis. Thus, in SLE, we identified LL37-specific T-cells with a distinct functional specialization and antigenic specificity. This suggests that autoantigenic specificity is independent from the nature of the autoantigen, but rather relies on the disease-specific milieu driving T-cell subset polarization and autoantigen modifications. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a prevalence of about 20-50 cases per 100,000 in Northern Europe and USA 1 , characterized by immune-complex formation and deposition, which result in inflammation and tissue damage. In SLE, altered clearance of dying cells determines persistent exposure of autoantigens and activation of antigen-presenting cells (APCs), mainly via Toll-like receptors (TLR), thus favoring adaptive immune response licensing 1-3. SLE autoantibodies are preferentially directed against

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by skin/internal organ fibrosis, vasculopathy and autoimmunity. Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 4 (CXCL4) is an SSc biomarker, predicting unfavorable prognosis and lung fibrosis. CXCL4 binds DNA/RNA and favors interferon (IFN)-α production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), contributing to the type I IFN (IFN-I) signature in SSc patients. However, whether CXCL4 is an autoantigen in SSc is unknown. Here, we show that at least half of SSc patients show consistent antibody reactivity to CXCL4. T-cell proliferation to CXCL4, tested in a limited number of patients, correlates with anti-CXCL4 antibody reactivity. Antibodies to CXCL4 mostly correlate with circulating IFN-α levels and are significantly higher in patients with lung fibrosis in two independent SSc cohorts. Antibodies to CXCL4 implement the CXCL4–DNA complex’s effect on IFN-α production by pDCs; CXCL4–DNA/RNA complexes stimulate purified human B-cells to become antibody-secreting plasma cells in vitro. These data indicate that CXCL4 is indeed an autoantigen in SSc and suggest that CXCL4, and CXCL4-specific autoantibodies, can fuel a harmful loop: CXCL4–DNA/RNA complexes induce IFN-α in pDCs and direct B-cell stimulation, including the secretion of anti-CXCL4 antibodies. Anti-CXCL4 antibodies may further increase pDC stimulation and IFN-α release in vivo, creating a vicious cycle which sustains the SSc IFN-I signature and general inflammation.

Human serum IgM Abs are composed of heavily glycosylated polymers with five glycosylation sites on the μ (heavy) chain and one glycosylation site on the J chain. In contrast to IgG glycans, which are vital for a number of biological functions, virtually nothing is known about structure–function relationships of IgM glycans. Natural IgM is the earliest Ig produced and recognizes multiple Ags with low affinity, whereas immune IgM is induced by Ag exposure and is characterized by a higher Ag specificity. Natural anti-lymphocyte IgM is present in the serum of healthy individuals and increases in inflammatory conditions. It is able to inhibit T cell activation, but the underlying molecular mechanism is not understood. In this study, to our knowledge, we show for the first time that sialylated N-linked glycans induce the internalization of IgM by T cells, which in turn causes severe inhibition of T cell responses. The absence of sialic acid residues abolishes these inhibitory activities, showing a key role of sialylated N-glycans in inducing the IgM-mediated immune suppression.

Based on previous studies demonstrating that a breach of the colonic epithelial barrier is associated with a microbiota-dependent increase in LP regulatory cells, we investigated if the lack of spontaneous intestinal inflammation observed in Nod2−/− mice was due to enhanced intestinal regulatory function. We found that the LP CD4+ T cell population of Nod2−/− mice contains an increased percentage of CD4+ regulatory T cells bearing TGF-β/latency peptide (LP CD4+LAP+ T cells) both under baseline conditions and following an intentional breach of the colonic barrier induced by ethanol administration. In addition, we found that Nod2−/− mice manifest decreased severity of TNBS-colitis and that TNBS-colitis in Nod2−/− or Nod2+/+ mice is ameliorated by adoptive transfer of LP cells from ethanol-treated mice before, but not after, depletion of LAP+ T cells. This increased regulatory T cell response in Nod2−/− mice could explain why NOD2 polymorphisms in humans are not in themselves sufficient to establish inflammatory lesions.